Garland construction and method



April 1959 L. c. WILLIAMS 2,880,540

GARLAND CONSTRUCTION AND'METHOD FiledvMarch 6, 1958 Le W/J C. VV////0/77J INVENTOR.

Y B M am) MM 4m United. States. Patent; i"

I 2,880,540 GARLAND CONSTRUCTION AND METHO Lewis C. Williams, Houston, Tex.

Application March 6, 1958, Serial No. 719,584

Claims. (Cl. 41-10) This invention relates to an improved garland construction, decorative streamers and the like and methods of making them.

Considerable difliculty has been encountered in garlands, decorative streamers and the like utilizing strips of metallic foil in that the strips of foil break ofi at the joint when flexed, such as when moving it or flexing with the wind and the like in use, due to work hardening of the metallic foil at the termination of the cut.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved construction for garlands, decorative streamers and the like and methods of their construction utilizing metallic foil which minimizes breakage of the foil at the termination of the cut thereby increasing the life of the streamer or garland.

Yet a further object of this invention is the provision of an improved construction for decorative streamers, garlands or the like and methods of their construction utilizing metallic foil which is durable in use and which has an extended life yet which is easily and inexpensively constructed.

Other and further objects, features and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a presentlypreferred example of the invention, given for the purpose of disclosure, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which like character references designate like parts throughout the several views, and where Figure 1 is a side view of a garland constructed according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a top view of a decorative streamer or garland construction before being finally formed into the streamer or garland,

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 with the foil curled or crinkled.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to Figure 3, several sheets of metallic foil 10, 12 and 14 are placed on one another with a flexible backing or strip of tape 11, 13 and 15 glued to each of the sheets of foil 10, 12 and 14, respectively, longitudinally along their central portions. The tape is preferably glued or secured to the sheets of foil by a suitable adhesive to provide a continuous bond with the sheets for best results. Preferably, the tape is a precoated bi-directional pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, that is, a tape which has fabric in two directions.

Any type metallic foil may be used and one such foil which is satisfactory in use is aluminum foil. If desired, to minimize oxidation or discoloration of the foil, it may be coated with either a transparent or colored coating. Various coatings may be used which serve as antioxidants, for example, various plastic coatings such as vinyl lacquers and butyrate, cellulose lacquers and the like although others may be used. The flexible coating also advantageously makes the foil stronger.

After the foil and tape have been secured together and placed one on top of another as illustrated in Figure 3 2,880,540 PatentedApr. 1, 1959 2 the tapes and foil are secured together such as by the staples 16 and by the adhesive.

In conventional construction, the metallic sheets are cut along the transverse lines 18 and the cut stops at the edge or a short distance before the edge of the tapes 11,13 and 15. Thus, the termination of the cut is near the edge of the tape and any movement of the foil strips soon causes strips to break off.

The present invention constitutes an improvement in that the sheets of foil are slit up into the tapes, as indicated at 20, 22 and 24. Thus, the joint of flexure is inside the tape rather than at the edge of the tape and provides a reinforcement or hinge where the foil flexes or bends and becomes brittle or work hardened.

The sheets and edge portion of the tape may be slit before being stapled together or after. The strip may then be formed into the garland illustrated in Figure 1 or into a decorative streamer or the like, not shown, by separating and curling the strips of foil and securing the ends of the strips together (in the case of a garland) and provided with the loop 22 or other means so that it can be secured to an object.

A garland, decorative streamer or the like constructed according to the present invention lasts considerably longer than others constructed in the conventional manner. In those garlands, streamers and the like used outdoors, the wind causes considerable movement of the individual metallic foil strips and causes many of them to break off very quickly; whereas, unexpectedly, by cutting the strips into the edge portion of the tape a highly successful and durable construction is provided.

While my improvement is a simple one, I know of no similar construction in the art and there has been a need for a long time of a garland, decorative streamer and like construction in which metallic foil strips are used which is durable and in which the metallic foil strips do not break off readily.

While it is believed that the method of my invention is apparent from the previous description, in brief, it includes the step of slitting the metallic foil into the edge portion of the tape rather than stopping at the edge of the tape.

As mentioned previously, after the strip has been formed and cut as illustrated in Figure 2, the strips of metallic foil may be bent and twisted and the whole formed into a garland as illustrated in Figure 1 or a decorative streamer and the like.

The present invention is therefore well suited to carry out the objects and attain the advantages and ends mentioned as well as others inherent therein.

While only a presently-preferred example of the invention has been given for the purpose of disclosure, changes in details and arrangements of parts may be made which are within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a garland or decorative streamer construction and the like, a body comprised of at least one sheet of metallic foil, and a tape glued to and extending longitudinally along the sheet, said sheet being slit transversely to provide transverse strips of metallic foil, said slits extending into the edge portion of the tape.

2. In a garland or decorative streamer construction and the like, a body comprised of at least one sheet of metallic foil, and a tape glued to and extending longitudinally along the center of the sheet, said sheet being slit transversely to provide transverse strips of metallic foil, said slits extending into the edge portion of the tape.

3. In a method of making a decorative streamer, garland or the like including gluing a tape longitudinally along a sheet of metallic foil and slitting the foil trans-.

versely to the margin of the tape to form transverse the foil transversely and continuing the slits into the edge portion of the body of the tape.

4. A garland or decorative streamer construction and the like comprising a body comprised of at least one sheet of metallic foil, a flexible anti-oxidant coating on the foil, and a tape glued to and extending longitudinally along the sheet, said sheet being slit transversely to pro vide transverse strips of metallic foil, said slits extending into the edge portion of the tape. 7

5. In a garland or decorative streamer construction and the like, a body comprised of at least one sheet of metallic foil, and a tape secured to the sheet substantially along its surface and extending longitudinally along the sheet, said sheet being slit transversely to provide transverse strips of metallic foil said slits extending into the edge portion of the tape.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 336,149 Noyes Feb. 16, 1886 10 1,609,056 Bouchard Nov. 30, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 691,254 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1951 

